What’s actually in supermarket bake-off rolls is almost always… a mystery
Do you regularly buy bake-off rolls from the supermarket? Then read on, because according to the Consumers’ Association, supermarkets are seriously dropping the ball when it comes to these products.
A visit to the supermarket can sometimes feel like a treasure hunt, for example when you’re looking for a product supermarket employees have never heard of. But even with something as simple as bake-off rolls, the information provided is pretty disastrous. Except at one supermarket chain…
What’s in supermarket bake-off rolls?
By law, all prepackaged products in the supermarket must clearly state their nutritional values and, very importantly, their allergens. So if you buy a pack of rolls to bake at home, the packaging tells you exactly what’s in them. This lets you know whether they’re safe for you, but also whether you’re making a healthy choice, if that’s what you’re aiming for. Because as you could read earlier on FavorFlav, some manufacturers simply try to pull the wool over your eyes by dyeing white bread brown.
Mysterious supermarket rolls
But once you’ve battled your way through the label to find out whether this is a sensible choice (brown bread is only a good choice if it contains more than 4.5 grams of fibre per 100 grams of product), at least you know what you’re eating. However, this is absolutely not the case at almost all supermarkets when you grab an individual, freshly baked roll from one of those transparent bins.
This is the secret ingredient for the perfect Indonesian rendang
Dirty bins, unclear ingredients
Quite apart from the fact that these bins are among the dirtiest places in the supermarket because they’re cleaned so poorly, supermarkets are not exactly generous with information about what’s actually in those rolls. A ‘multiseed triangle’ is a typical example of how you can be misled: many people think it’s a healthy choice. But the fact that three sesame seeds, a sprinkling of poppy seeds and one stray flaxseed are stuck to a roll says nothing about the nutritional value of the dough. Is it white bread, brown bread or wholemeal?
Supermarkets get around the law
And the annoying thing is: supermarkets are not legally required to provide information about this. This is considered a product for immediate consumption that you put into a bag yourself. But, as the Consumers’ Association writes, ‘they are required to put the legally prescribed product name (white, brown or wholemeal) on the product or by the shelf. The only supermarket chain that consistently does this properly is Ekoplaza Foodmarqt.
In short, if you like to know exactly what you’re buying, supermarket bake-off rolls may not be for you. If you’re thinking, ‘I’m going to live dangerously on the edge with a mysterious triangle roll, plus a few nice bacteria for that extra YOLO effect,’ then go ahead and grab to your heart’s content! But please use tongs.
Also read:
- Your breakfast is fooling you: wholemeal isn’t wholemeal at all
- 11 tips for saving a ridiculous amount of money at the supermarket
- Tested: this is the tastiest (and nastiest!) brie from the supermarket
Source: Consumentengids, image: Albert Heijn
